White Fury
by Wedrestamos
Summary: Pokémon have been gone for millennia. No one knows why. Then, a young man has a strange dream, containing hopes, his destiny, and the destiny of the world.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

The Beginning

It was a dream. No, is. I mean, how could it not be? It was packed with Pokémon, which everyone in the world knew were extinct, due to famine, plague, killing each other, you name it. There were so many theories it made one's head spin. Anyways, the weird thing was that they weren't attacking each other. Instead, they were just looking within their various groups-you know: Fire, Water, Grass, etc.-all at the same point. Then, after I looked around a moment, I realized that point…was me!

Before I could think too much on that, a bright light appeared. All of the Pokémon bowed before it, so I decided to do that as well. When the light dimmed, I got up and saw the source of the light. I was in shock and awe. It was Arceus, god of Pokémon!

Naturally, I started to panic. But before too long, I heard a voice in my head which I somehow knew was Arceus.

"Relax, mortal. You are not in my true presence, merely an extension. I have bothered to come here to tell you the following: The Pokémon, contrary to popular belief, are not dead, but fled instead from human tyranny. Your people and mine have been separated for millennia, but I believe that, using a single representative, the two can be united once again, with peace between the two."

"You may be wondering why I am telling you this. Well, the truth is simple. I have chosen you as representative. Only you can unite the Pokémon and humans peacefully."

I had no idea what to say. Fortunately, that got taken care of rater quickly.

"Redoni! Get down here! Breakfast!"

I woke up quickly and sat up. Man, my mother had a way of piercing even the deepest sleep, even worse than a Loudred sometimes. Wait, what? I just referenced a Pokémon. Why I did that, even though they had been gone for millennia, I didn't know. I shrugged it off and went downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen. "Morning, Mom."

She smiled. "Morning, Redoni. How did you sleep?"

"Eh, it probably would have been better if I had slept in," I grumbled. "Well, I'm awake now. May as well make the most of it. What's for breakfast? I'm hungrier than a Snorlax."

My mother glanced at me. "Hungrier than a what?"

I frowned, puzzled. "You know, a Snorlax? Large, Normal-type, can eat huge quantities of food in one-"

I stopped. What was I saying? Pokémon, gone for millennia, no one talks about them anymore. So why did I just use a reference for the second time that day. What the heck?

My mom stopped completely, thinking for a moment. "…What's with the Pokémon reference all of a sudden?"

I got nervous. "Nothing. What's for breakfast?"

She looked at me a little longer, then shrugged it off. "Well, we have bacon, toast, eggs, the whole sha-bang!"

I looked up from the table. "Really? What's the occasion?"

She smiled. "Oh, no occasion. Just thought that you'd need a ton of energy for Eoniai and Tardon."

Oh, yeah. Those two. Eoniai and Tardon had been my best friends for as long as I could remember. We did everything together, although I will say those two could run circles around me, literally. Tardon also has this… I dunno, obsession with archeology and finding ruins and such. Eoniai and I never complained, we had as much fun as he did.

So, yeah. Mom had a really good point. Only a Ninjask could outlast their energy, and that was on a good day. Wh-three?! Three means no coincidences anymore. I kept trying to ignore it.

The food was finally prepared. Mom and I ate, her a lot quieter than usual, which worried me. It's not like her not to talk. Sometimes the talkativeness annoyed me, but I had gotten used to it.

We finished eating. I put my stuff in the sink and said, "Well, see ya, Mom! I'm off to see Eoniai and Tardon!"

But before I could run off and get ready, she said, "Redoni, hold on. I have to talk with you. Is there anything bothering you?"

I paused. Then I told her about my dream, and my Pokémon trains of thought. She stood there a moment, mulling something over. Then she finally spoke. "Do you still have that heirloom your father gave you?"

Before my father left for a business trip in the Kalos region, he had given me a wristband of solid white. He didn't say where he got it, just that it was incredibly important and not to ever lose it. It was currently on my dresser, kind of on its own so it wouldn't be lost in my stuff.

I spoke. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

She hesitated. "Before you go out today, put it on and never let it out of your sight."

I looked quizzically at her. "Ok, got it, but Mom, why?"

She sighed. "I knew this day would come. I hoped it wouldn't, but I knew it would." She was almost in tears, I could see that.

I was officially worried. Mom had never cried, I never could see even traces of it. "Mom, you're not making any sense. What's going on?"

She took a shaky breath. "Redoni, promise me you'll make wise choices beyond your years. Tardon can explain, but not directly. I won't see you for a long time."

She was now all out crying. I asked her what she meant, but she told me to go get ready. I didn't want to leave her upset, but she wanted me to leave, so I left.

I went upstairs to my room. The first thing I did was go over to the band and put it on. Then I proceeded to get ready.

I came downstairs, ready for the day. Jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers, and on impulse, my dad's lucky hat, blue with a stripe of orange around it.

I was about to head out, but my mom stopped me again. She was holding a backpack.

She looked at me and smiled. "I've been preparing for this day a long time. This is everything you need for a journey as long as yours will be. You know about the inns on the way."

I nodded. One inn in every city, that was how it worked.

She looked at me closely. "Redoni. My son. Good luck. If we are both lucky, I will see you again. Good-bye."

I still was confused, but I shouldered the backpack. "Mom, I still don't know what this is about, but…I hope to see you again."

We hugged. She hugged me tighter than usual, which I still didn't quite understand. We separated, she smiled one last time, then I headed out.

Pallet Town's not exactly big, but it's still homey. Before I got too far though, I heard, "Hey, Red! Red!"

I turned. Yup, right on schedule. Eoniai and Tardon. And…was Tardon holding something?

They caught up to me. Eoniai asked, "Hey, Red, how you doing?"

I replied, "Good, good. Hey, Tardon, what's that you got there?"

Tardon was pretty much bouncing on the spot. Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said hyper.

He started to talk, luckily able to control his word speed pretty well. "Well, we had found a lot of our finds starting at Oak's lab, right? So I thought 'I'll go there and check some stuff out, see if I can't find something else!' So, I go to his lab, and he's there, researching his latest project. I go up to him and say, 'Hey, Prof, how you doing?' He says, 'I'm doing well, Tardon. Looking for another thing to find?' I say, 'Yeah, pretty much. Whatcha got?' He pondered a moment, looked at me, and then went into that back room. He came back out a minute later with this scroll in his hand. He hands it to me and says, 'You're friends with that Redoni kid, right?' I say, 'Yeah, why?' He says, 'Here, this scroll should explain some things. He'll know what I mean.' So, even though I'm a little confused, I take the scroll and leave. I find Eoniai, see you, and, well, you know what happened from there."

I gave myself a minute to take it in, then I asked to see the scroll. He handed it to me.

Before I could unroll it, Tardon said, "The Prof didn't say exactly what was on the scroll, but he said it had something about Pokémon and a band…"

I looked at him sharply, then unraveled the scroll. It mostly was covered in a language none of us knew, but there was one thing I recognized instantly. Right in the center of the paper was a design, exactly the same as my band! I held up the band to look closer, but then a bright white light started coming out of the paper! The lightshow went on a few seconds, then it finally dimmed down. The three of us looked at each other, then looked at the scroll. It no longer held the band design. Instead, it read the following:

"Follow the path to the land of the masters. There you will find what ye seek. The path is old, but the journey is new. Follow the path to your destiny."

Right under that inscription was drawn a map. It showed the entire Kanto region. This particular map led to the northwest, to the Indigo Plateau.

Eoniai saw the map and said, "The Indigo Plateau? No one's been there except…"

We all remembered in somber silence. Legend told of incredible masters of Pokémon. But, when the Pokémon started to do whatever it was they did, the masters were nowhere to be found. When someone was sent to look for them, they found the plateau completely abandoned. No one in sight, much less the masters.

I snapped Eoniai and Tardon out of it. "Guys, whatever this thing is, it's big. We have to check this out."

They looked at each other, then looked back at me and nodded. With all that done, we set out on our journey, unsure of what to come, but excited to see what it would be.

**Hello, everyone! I'm Wedrestamos, and I'm new to the site. The use of the nickname Red is completely coincidental and does not refer to the actual character. Please review, and I hope that you enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Immediately after the scroll showed us where to go, Eoniai and Tardon went off to pack for the journey. Unlike my mother, they had no clue about this in advance. Before I could even suggest them going to pack, I was enveloped in a cloud of dust from them running off so fast. I said they were hyper, but that was a little ridiculous.

Anyways, a few minutes later, they were ready to join me on my journey. We made sure we had everything, then set off. Our first stop was Viridian City. Since it was on the way to the plateau, we figured we'd pick up some supplies. After a couple hours' travel, we finally arrived. It wasn't a bad city. Tall buildings, bustling neighborhoods, stuff kids from Pallet like us had never seen before. Since we were all tired from the day's travel, and it was nearing nighttime, we decided to find the local inn. These were just places in town where travelers could rest and relax on their various journeys. The best part was it was all free, no expenses. The inn was easy to find since it was the only building in town with a bright red roof. We quickly went inside and were greeted at the counter by a friendly receptionist.

"Hi, welcome to the Viridian City inn. How may I help you?" she asked.  
"Hi," I said. "We're just looking for rooms for a night or two."

She smiled. "Got it. Where you headed, if I may ask?"

I hesitated a moment. It wasn't exactly everyday a human is chosen by Arceus to unite people and Pokémon. Thankfully, Eoniai had my back.

"We're heading to the Indigo Plateau," he said. "We wanted to pay our respects to the old masters in the last place they were said to have been seen."

Wow. Not a total lie, just not the whole truth. She nodded and said, "Some people just can't believe they would leave us like that, even after millennia of truth staring them in the face."

Eoniai bowed his head. "Well, we do believe it, and we just wanted to pay respects."

She nodded again. "Ok. So, separate rooms for all three of you. Here're your keys, please return them on the day of your checkout, we've had key thefts, oddly enough."

Eoniai took the keys. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Any food or drink, there's a cafeteria just down the hall or you can call room service. Enjoy your stay!"

"Thanks!" the three of us said.

Later, after we had unpacked and all that, we all gathered together in my room to talk about recent events.

"So," I said, "what exactly is our plan? Eoniai?"

He was the sound thinker of our group, and the mediator whenever Tardon and I got into a fight about something. "Well," he said, "we don't have much to go on. The scroll only pointed us towards the Indigo Plateau. It didn't show us anything else after that."

"Yeah, it did," Tardon said.

"What are you talking about?" Eoniai said. "We all saw the same thing: a map leading towards the Indigo Plateau and the inscription."

"And the 18 rings along the bottom," Tardon said.

"Tardon, there's nothing like that on there," I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me. Then he pulled out the scroll, unrolled it, and pointed at the bottom.

"Wha-?" was all I could say.

Sure enough, there were 18 rings along the bottom. Out of that, one was glowing white and another was blinking orange. How could Eoniai and I have missed that?

Tardon grinned. "Told you. On the way here, I was checking out the scroll closer an I saw these rings. What do you think they represent?"

We were all stumped. On an impulse, I touched the glowing white ring. The glow somehow transferred from the picture to my band which also started to glow. Then, they both glowed brighter, and we all had to look away. When the glow died, I saw that the band had slightly changed. It now looked like it could be unscrewed. I started to unscrew, and instead of coming off, the top part sort of receded, revealing a simple design of a flawless white circle. I looked at Eoniai and Tardon.

"What…what do you think I should do? I asked them.

"Push it!" Tardon said.

"Why push?"

"Why not?" he countered.

Good point. I pushed the design. It sank, and instantly it started to glow again, but this time, the glow was spreading throughout my entire body! I started to panic a bit…okay, a lot. I don't know exactly what happened next, but I lost consciousness somewhere in there.

I opened my eyes. I saw the same dream world where Arceus had come to me before. Also as before, all the Pokémon were there. Before I could wonder too much, Arceus's glow started to descend again. All bowed.

"Rise, Redoni," said Arceus.

I rose. "Arceus. To what do I owe this visit?"

He seemed to smile, but I couldn't really tell. "You have discovered the secret of the Normal Band."

I was confused. "The what?"

"The item on your wrist. It is not just for decoration. It serves a greater purpose. It lets you transform into a superhuman being. Not a Pokémon, but somewhere between that and a human. The band allows you access to all of your powers. But, you must learn how to wield this incredible power."

I asked, "What power?"

"Your friend Tardon showed you the designs on the scroll. They are rings, each one containing the power of a different type. For you to successfully unite our two kinds, you must collect all of the rings. Only then will you be able."

I was quiet a minute, taking it all in. Superhuman powers? It was incredible, I'd say that much. But then a thought entered my head. "I will still be human, right?"

He nodded. "Yes, you shall still be human. But, I must warn you. Most of mankind believes Pokémon to be extinct. But, there was a small group which knew that we had fled from tyranny. Fearing that only violence would ensue should the two kinds meet again, they spread the story of our extinction. That group still lives on today, protecting the Earth from what they believe to be the apocalypse. This group's name is Team Nevermore."

"Team Nevermore? I've never heard of them."

"Not many have. The team keeps a low profile. If they detect any signs of us returning, namely your quest for the rings, they will do anything and everything in their power to keep it from happening."

I pondered. "Should I be afraid?"

Arceus seemed to chuckle at that. "Only if you believe you need to be. That's why your transformation also includes a…costume change."

I glanced at him. "A costume change?"

"Yes. I would tell you more, but our time is running short. I can tell you two more things, then I must go. First, the band represents the Normal type and is the basis for your whole journey. Any moves Normal-type can be used. But, if you decide to use your powers out of costume, keep it subtle. Second, when you are in costume, you can use all of your rings at the same time, but out of costume, only one at a time."

I nodded. "Okay, got it."

He nodded as well. "Go forth, Redoni. I shall see you periodically if you have questions, but only in your subconscious states. Farewell, my ally."

I woke up, feeling groggy. Eoniai was looking at me, concern obvious on his face, as if waiting for something. Apparently, me. When he saw my eyes open, he shouted, "Tardon! He's awake!"

Tardon quickly rushed over. "Dude, don't do that again! You were out for, like, a half-hour!"

"A half-hour?" I asked. The conversation with Arceus seemed like only 10 minutes…

Eoniai cut in, saying, "Not the most important thing. There's a full length mirror in the closet. Look in it."

I got up off the ground and went to the mirror. My first thought? "Arceus definitely meant costume change."

It was all white, literally. White sneakers, white trench coat, white t-shirt and jeans, all of it, including an interesting hat. It was like a fedora, but had two long protrusions going out from the front, about a foot long.

Eoniai commented, "Yeah, those protrusions on your hat cover your eyes at all times, no matter the amount of light."

I thought that was rather interesting. Another thing Arceus said came to mind. "Hey, Tardon? You know any moves Normal-type Pokémon used before they disappeared?"

He thought for a moment. "What about Double-slap?"

I thought the term Double-slap in my head. Then, all of a sudden, I grabbed Eoniai and started slapping him across the face numerous times. I instantly thought, Stop!, and I stopped.

He looked at me sourly. "What the hell, man?! What did I do?"

"Nothing," I said. "Just…checking something." Then I told them about my vision.

They were shocked, to say the least. "Wait, so...you have Pokémon powers?" Eoniai asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Pretty much. As long as I have the type ring, I can perform moves of that type."

"So, does that mean you're a superhero now?" Tardon asked.

"Well, Arceus said 'superhuman,' but yeah, pretty much."

"And you're protecting the world from an organization called Team Nevermore?" Eoniai asked.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."  
"No, it doesn't," Tardon said. "If you're gonna be a superhero, you need a cool name."

We all thought for a moment. Then Eoniai asked, "How much are you gonna attack these guys?"

I thought. "Pretty furiously if I'm not gonna let them stop us."

Eoniai said, "All right, then. Got it! How about…White Fury?"

Tardon and I looked at each other, then looked at him. "Perfect," I said. "From this moment on, whenever I am in this form, I shall be known as White Fury!"

"How do you change back?" Tardon asked.

Hm. Good question. I noticed I still had the band, so I tried pressing the symbol again. It came up, and I started to glow. When the glow subsided, I was back to myself.

Tardon summed it up pretty well. "Cool."

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, pretty cool. Well, that's enough for one night. Let's try and get some sleep, okay, guys? We have a long day tomorrow."

They quickly agreed. After they went to their respective rooms, I was left alone to think. I got into my pajamas and climbed into bed, thinking about the day. Could I really unite two completely different kinds? I guess I had to if the world was to be saved. I didn't think about it much more. I quickly fell asleep, eager for the day tomorrow.

**Hey, Wedrestamos again. If you're reading this, thanks for reading and please review. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, everyone! Sorry it's been so long. I've had stuff going on. Here's the now chapter!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

I woke up, feeling well refreshed. Should've known that wouldn't last long.

"Red! Red! Red! Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!"

Tardon came barreling into my room faster than…than…well, I don't know what. But it was fast.

After he finally stopped himself (not before circling the room a few times), he said, "The scroll's been destroyed!"

I sat up quickly. "What?! Show me!"

He quickly took me to his room where Eoniai was doing damage assessment. He was looking at a pile of ash, completely black and unintelligible, except for one part which looked like it was cut out.

Eoniai turned to us. "Yeah, it's as bad as it looks. I was the first one Tardon got up so I could check it out. As far as I could tell at first, it could have been just a random ash pile except for two things. We couldn't find the scroll anywhere and…that." He gestured towards the cut out part.

I got down and looked closer. It was one of the parts that showed one of the rings, the Normal Band. I touched it, and it started to glow faintly. Then, the paper somehow turned itself over and showed a message, reading the following:

"This is a warning. Stop your search, or else this will be one of you.

-Team Nevermore"

We looked at each other, then back at the paper. It turned back over, glowed slightly brighter, and then turned to ashes like the rest of itself.

We were all sad, sadder than if it were just a regular scroll. Eoniai summed it up grimly. "From dust thou comes, and to dust thou returns."

We couldn't let this dishearten us, though. I didn't know about them, but I took it personally. "Team Nevermore," I said, "you will pay!"

We all took another moment, then we began to pack to resume our journey towards the Plateau. If we were going to be able to find the other 17 rings before Nevermore, we had to move fast.

"Are you sure Nevermore's going to go after the rings?" Eoniai asked.

"It makes sense," I said. "If they want to stop us from collecting the rings, the logical thing they would do is try to find and take them themselves."

Tardon nodded. "If that's the case, we better get the hell out of here!"

We headed out, returning our keys as we went. As soon as we got outside, we noticed something going on. There were a lot of cop cars near the local chain store, looking similar to the inn, but with a blue roof.

"Stop in the name of the law! We have the store surrounded! Come out with your hands up!"

"Never!"

We heard gunfire. We looked at each other, then ran over.

By the time we got there, there was a full-on firefight going on. There were a couple of officers making a perimeter, keeping civilians out, including us.

I was officially curious. "Excuse me, officer? What's going on?"

He looked at the store, then back at me. "Well, it's simple and it's not. Early in the morning, about four men entered the store. The only other person in there was the cashier. As far as we can tell from eyewitness accounts, three of the men then pulled guns while the fourth one talked to the cashier. They started looting the store, both items and money. Before they could escape, we got here, and, well, you know what happened from there."

I frowned. "That sounds pretty simple. Why wouldn't it be?"

He grimaced. "Well, we haven't seen the cashier. We don't know if he's a hostage or dead. If he's a hostage, we can't storm the place because he might get killed. It's a damn Schrodinger's dilemma."

"Ah. That is complicated. Why not send a negotiator in?"

He looked at me, gunfire echoing in the background.

I grimaced. "Right. Dumb question. My bad."

The officer grinned. "Don't worry about it. I would like to ask that you and your friends step back. We don't want anyone getting hurt."

We nodded. "Got it," Eoniai said. "Thanks."

We started to walk away. I wished there was something we could do. I thrust my hands into my pockets…and felt a piece of paper. I knew I didn't have anything in my pockets, so what was this? I stopped walking, took it out, and unfolded it. The title read, "Normal Moves." I scanned the list, and saw it was listing moves and their effects the Normal Band unlocked. I quickly memorized it and called to Eoniai and Tardon. They came over, and I told them what I found.

"Dude, you know what that means?" Eoniai asked. "You can help the police catch these guys!"

Tardon nodded. "Yeah, see this one? It protects you completely for a short time!"

I nodded. "The debut of White Fury! I'll go find a place to change."

I hurried off to an alley. I checked for any passerby, then on some impulse, swung my arm in front of me. It worked just as well as unscrewing and showed the symbol. I pressed it, and immediately the glow came again. It was a lot quicker this time, like it knew the urgency. I was transformed into my superpowered alter ego. I ran as quickly as I could towards the scene, leaving Eoniai and Tardon in the dust, for once.

Soon, I got to the officer we had talked to earlier. "Sir, I'm here to help."

"Sorry, no civilians allo-" He turned and looked at me. "Um, who are you?"

I grinned. "I am the answer to this problem. Schrodinger's cat, right?"

He looked startled. "Um, yeah, exactly. How'd you-"

"I know a lot of things. But let's not dwindle on that. I can run in and either save the cashier or take out the criminals."

He frowned. "What, you can't do both?"

I smirked. "Well, I could, but I don't want to show up our boys in blue too much, now do I?"

He thought. "Good point. Go for the cashier. Bring him out, dead or alive. We'll take care of the rest."

I nodded. "Got it. Wish me luck."

And with that, I thought, 'Extremespeed!,' and rushed into the store. I heard the officer behind me call, "Cease fire, cease fire! Civilian!" Immediately, they stopped firing. But the crooks didn't. Eh. I'll take one for two. I kept running and burst through the door, surprising all four of them.

"Stop!" I yelled.

They looked at each other, puzzled. Then the one who appeared to be their leader stepped forward, no gun in hand, thankfully.

"Um, who are you?" He asked.

Man, I was getting that a lot today. "I…am White Fury! Here to spread justice and peace!"

Two of the other guys started to…was that panic?

"White Fury?! We killed you! Over and over and over and-"

The other one slapped him. "Get a grip, man! It's just some freaky coincidence. It's not him!"

The first guy seemed to be having a panic attack. "How can you say that? They always come back, smarter than before! I mean, so do we, but we don't die! He does! I surrender!"

He ran towards me. I wasn't sure if he was serious about surrendering, but I wasn't taking any chances.

"Horn Attack!" The protrusions on my hat started to glow. I knelt down, and waited for him to get to me. 3…2…1…now! I jabbed the hat out and flipped him over my shoulders into a waiting cop car. One down, three to go.

However, none of them were eager to attack. Seeing this, I asked them, "Where's the cashier?"

They pointed to the counter. The cashier poked his head out from under it.

"Get out, quickly!"

"Thank you, White Fury! Thank you!" He shook my hand a few times, then ran the hell out of there. Smart.

I turned to them. "Now," I said. "I promised the police they could come in here and attack after I got him out and got out. Before I do, two questions. Who are you and what did your friend mean you killed me?"

The leader smirked. "Two questions, one answer. The other one's a surprise. We…are Team Nevermore!"

I stepped forward. "What are you doing here?"

He smirked again. "What else? Doing anything possible to stop pokemon from returning! Now, you're not getting another word out of us, so leave."

I was a little miffed. He didn't answer my question, but he looked like he would be tighter then a Clamperl from now on. I got out, and the police moved in.

I found the officer I had spoken to earlier. "Hello again, officer."  
He grinned. "Thanks for the assist. Now, who are you?"

I smiled. "Call me…White Fury! Let the other officers know this: Whenever there is a crime too big to-"

He stopped me. "Don't go all corny superhero on me. I'll radio the officers around the region, tell them about you. You better get going."

I nodded. "Farewell, officer…"

"Call me James." he said. "See you around, White Fury."

I sped off back towards the alley. I changed back and met Eoniai and Tardon outside of town.

"Hey, man, so how'd it go?" Tardon asked. "D'you kick some ass?"

I smiled. "Yes, yes I did."

"Well, good for you," Eoniai said. "You know, as we get more rings, you can fight better."

"It occurred to me, yes."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Tardon asked. "Let's head to the Indigo Plateau!"

"Hold on, guys. There's something I gotta say."

I told them about my conversation in the store.

"Wow," Eoniai said. "What did they mean, they killed you?"

"Dunno. I guess we'll figure it out as we keep looking. In the meantime, we better focus on the rings."

"Right."

We started walking, but I couldn't stop thinking about Nevermore. What were they talking about? Why was it such a surprise appearance? So much one had a nervous breakdown? I didn't know what to think, but I focused on the road ahead, to the Indigo Plateau. Maybe, just maybe…we'll find some answers there. But either way, this just got a whole lot more complicated.

**Hey, everyone! Don't forget to review! See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

After a while, we finally came to the entrance of Victory Road. We had all heard the stories, which went something like this:

"Long ago, many young men and women came to Victory Road to prove they were the best. Many were stopped by Victory Road, but there were those who managed to power through and lay eyes on the Pokémon League. There, they had to face five more challenges: The Elite Four and the Champion. Many more fell victim to these incredibly powerful individuals, but one remained. This one young man defeated the Elite Four and the Champion and was known as the most powerful of them all. His name was Red."

"Hey," Eoniai said. "Does that mean Redoni is descended from Red?"

I chuckled. "I asked my mom the same question and she said no, she just gave me the name because she thought it would bring me good luck. Nowadays, I need all the luck I can get."

We started to walk towards the entrance, but heard a voice.

"Halt!"

A figure came out of nowhere and stopped in front of us. When the dust finally settled, we could finally see him. He was about the same age as us, fifteen, and was dressed just in plain shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers that had seen better days.

He held out his hand in a stop position and said, "You shall not pass!"

Yeesh. Someone had watched too much _Lord of the Rings_.

"Whoa there," I said, holding up my hands defensively. "We don't want-"

He gasped. "Is…is that…the Normal Band?!"

He looked at us, then at the band, then back at us. "Who are you?"

We looked at each other. Apparently, this could open some doors for us. "Um, I'm Redoni, that's Eoniai, and that's Tardon. We come in peace. Why are you so shocked?"

He took a deep breath. "You're here for the ring."

A statement, not a question. Hm. "Yeah, we are. You know where it is?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Follow me. I'll take you to it."

While we walked, he began to explain. Apparently, he and his family had been guarding the ring for generations. Then, when someone came to claim it, they gave it away. But, somehow it came back. And so the cycle had repeated for years.

"Haven't you ever wondered why the ring keeps coming back?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "We always think the person who comes will be the one. Well, they are, but it happens over and over and over again. We always wonder, but we can't leave. Our sworn duty is to protect the ring."

Eoniai frowned. "So, if this keeps happening, then why do you keep giving it out?"

"They all have the Normal Band," he said. "That's the clearance to get the ring. At least, that and the win."

"The what?" I said.

He looked at me oddly. "You must be new to this. I'd explain, but…here we are! The Pokémon League!"

He gave us a bit to gawk. Even though it had been out of use for years, it was still pristine. The building soared above all, like it was the answer to all problems. Well, it sort of was, in this case.

We noticed he had kept walking, so we jogged to catch up with him. We went inside, which was just as amazing as outside. He then turned to talk to us.

"See those doors in the back?" We nodded. "Go through there. The second room is your destination. See you there!"

He ran off. We started walking towards the back.

"So, what do you think this win is?" Eoniai asked.

"Dunno," I said. "But whatever it is, I gotta be ready."

"Right," said Tardon. "You gotta be flexible, adapt to anything they throw at you."

I nodded. We got to the second room and stopped. It was dimly lit, so we couldn't see much. Then a spotlight turned on, illuminating the kid we'd met earlier.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" His voice echoed throughout the room. "Welcome to today's battle to see who walks away with the Fighting Ring! In the blue corner, hailing from…uh, where you from?"

"Pallet Town, and I'm proud of it!" I said.

"Thanks. All the way from Pallet Town, here to challenge today, the next White Fury, Reeeeeedooooooooniiiiiiiiiiii!"

A crowd we couldn't see went wild, but I was distracted. How had he known I called myself that? I couldn't worry about that right now, though. My opponent had appeared.

"And in the red corner, hailing from right here in the Pokémon League! He's the descendant of the one and only Bruno himself! He has dedicated his life to protecting and fighting! Give it up for the one, the only, my dad Looooooreeeeeenzoooooooooooooo!"

The crowd went wild again as a buff shirtless man emerged from the other side of the ring. He looked very similar to Bruno, but more caring features.

I had to say, I was freaking out. I had to fight a descendant of the greatest fighter in the region, Bruno?! I was not okay with this!

The kid was talking again. "Good to see two amazing fighters here tonight, folks. I'm Manny, and I'll be your announcer tonight. Now, I want a nice, clean fight. Got it?"

Both of us nodded.

"Okay, here're the rules. Red, you transform. My dad will transform as well. The first one to get either a knockout or ring out wins. Knockout's given ten seconds, ring out twenty. Any questions or comments?"

"Yeah," said Lorenzo. "I just wanna say, I hope I get a good fight out of you. You better make me use this ring's full power." He held up his hand, and I could see an orange ring on his right pointer finger. This ring had a fist design on it.

"Same here," I said.

We transformed, me as usual in all white. Lorenzo, after his transformation, had on an orange mask and orange karate clothes.

"And…begin!" Manny rang the bell.

Lorenzo rushed towards me. I got into a defensive stance, but he jumped up into the air. I was a little confused until he shouted, "High Jump Kick!" My eyes widened. As he plummeted towards me, his knee covered in orange light, an idea popped into my head.

"Protect!" A green shield formed around me. Lorenzo reflected off it, landing on the mat, hard. I could see him in a lot of pain.

"Ooh, that's gonna hurt in the morning!" I heard Manny say. "If High Jump Kick doesn't connect with its intended target, it does damage to the user, and a lot of it!"

I saw this as an opportunity and rushed forward. I got to Lorenzo and shouted, "Mega Punch!" My hand started glowing white, and my fist descended. Lorenzo saw this, and attempted to counter. "Mach Punch!"

Our fists collided, and smoke filled the arena. Once the dust settled, all could see both of us still standing, but weak.

"Well, kid," Lorenzo said, "you got skill. I'll give you that. Enough to take me out."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. "You're still standing."

"Eh, not for long," he said, and then he collapsed.

Manny counted to ten before he rang the bell. "And the winner is Redoni of Pallet Town! His prize? The Fighting Ring!"

Lorenzo got up. Apparently, I hadn't done as much damage as I thought. He shrugged and smiled.

"Am I disappointed that I barely lost? Yes. Am I disappointed that I barely lost to you? No."

He walked over to me and took off the ring. "Here," he said. "This is yours. Use it well."

I accepted it and put it on. I could feel the ring's energy flowing throughout my body.

"Here," Lorenzo said, handing me a sheet of paper. "These are Fighting moves."

"Thanks. Hey, do you know where I go now?" I asked.

He frowned. "Don't you know where to go?"

I grimaced. "No, my guide got destroyed, so I'm flying blind, so to speak."

He nodded, deep in thought. "Go east. That's where the others went. Where, exactly, I couldn't say. Maybe you can find something to help you."

"Thank you," Eoniai said. "We'll do that."

"One more thing," Lorenzo said. "I am the easiest of your opponents. Your next fights will not be so easy."

And with that, we took our leave, heading east.

"So," Tardon said. "Where should we go?"

"Dunno," I said. "I mean, east is really vague. It could be in this region or the next or any of them."

"Let's just try this region," Eoniai said. "We'll be able to find something to guide us. Hopefully."

Yeah. Hope. We were gonna need that a ton in the upcoming days.

**Hey, all. Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

We had travelled a while, and we finally arrived back in Viridian City. We were going to be there for a bit. Why, you ask? Well, after I had beaten Lorenzo, he had directed my friends and I to go east. Problem is, east is kinda big. So, we were staying here to try and figure out where to go.

We were sitting in the inn, silent. Then Tardon spoke. "Well, what the hell are we gonna do?"

Sometimes, he summed it up too well. "I don't know," I said. "Lorenzo said east. We should go east. Where in the east, I have no clue."

Eoniai pondered. "Maybe there's something we're missing. Some huge piece of the puzzle we desperately need. Something that will come in our-"

"Excuse me, young fellas, but what's that?" An old man had approached us while we were talking. He was gesturing towards my new Fighting Ring.

We looked at each other, then I said, "It's nothing. Just…an old ring."

The man smiled. "The Fighting Ring ain't that old, sonny."

We were shocked. Was everyone we were going to meet know everything?

"Sir," I said, "What can you tell us?"

He smiled again. "I can't tell you anything."

We sighed.

"…But I can show you." He started to walk away, gesturing us to follow.

We weren't sure what was going on, but I figured since I had the Ring and Band, we would be okay should we be in trouble. I got up and followed him, Eoniai and Tardon following close behind.

He led us out of the inn to a nearby house. He opened the door and gestured inside. I shrugged and went in.

I stopped when I walked in, Eoniai and Tardon almost bumping into me. The house was like a library. Books covered every wall, even scattered throughout the room, as we could see.

The old man walked past us. "Stay here, young whippersnappers. I'll get the book," he said, and left us alone. He wasn't gone long, though. He returned rather quickly with a large tome, the whole thing bigger than my head.

He plopped it onto the table, opened it, and turned the pages. After a bit, he said, "Ah, here it is! Come here, younguns!"

We went over to him. On the page he had turned to, we saw images identical to the ones on a scroll we used to have.

He started to explain. "I am a collector of rare and unique books. This one caught my eye quite recently. Now, as far as I can glean from the text, the rings are to be collected in a certain order. The ring-bearer cannot control it, just go with it. It seems that whichever ring most recent the wearer has, the next ring will be strong against it, as more of a challenge. I won't reveal the whole thing, but I can tell you two more things. All of the rings are hidden in places appropriate to their type, and as such, the next ring will be in Saffron City."

I frowned. "Why Saffron City?"

"Good question. The next ring's type is Psychic, and Saffron used to be home to the most powerful Psychic type trainer in the region. It might even be with one of her descendants."

We looked at each other, not believing our luck.

He was still talking, though. "But, considering this is the only tome of its kind, you will need to figure out the locations of the rest of the rings yourselves."

Eoniai nodded. "Got it. Anything else?"

The old man thought. "Just one, and then you should leave. Along the way, the non-ring-bearers may acquire weapons to help the ring-bearer on his journey. Where, exactly, I can't say. But, I can say that they will help you a ton."

Tardon nodded. "Thanks, mister."

The old man grinned. "Call me Spencer. Now, go. I have nothing more to tell you, White Fury. Good-bye and good luck."

We nodded, and headed towards the door. As we approached it, though, Spencer called out, "Companions, a moment." We looked at each other, then Eoniai and Tardon went back inside.

While I waited, I turned over the new information in my head. What weapons would the guys get? More importantly, were they responsible enough?

My thoughts were interrupted as the two of them came back out, visibly shaken, I could tell.

"What?" I asked. "What did he say?"

Eoniai spoke. "We can't tell you, but we can say one thing."

Tardon finished Eoniai's thought. "We know what the Nevermore guy meant when he said they killed you.

I felt like I was hit with a sledgehammer. My friends knew that huge secret, and they couldn't tell me? Totally unfair! Nevertheless, I held it in as I said, "Okay. Next stop, Saffron City!"

And we set off, heading north towards Pewter City. It was the only way to get to Saffron. Through Pewter, then Cerulean, then finally Saffron. It wasn't a long trip on a map, but knowing us, we were going to run into something sooner or later.

During our journey towards Pewter, I kept pestering Eoniai and Tardon to tell me what Spencer told them, and believe me, I can pester. I pestered so long, I didn't even notice us getting into the city.

We stopped in front of the inn, me still pestering. Then finally, Eoniai and Tardon looked at each other, then at me, and they both punched me in the face, sending me back a good few feet.

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, SHUT THE HELL UP!" they cried in unison.

I shut up, got up, and walked into the inn with them. The receptionist gave us our keys, and we headed to our rooms.

The night was uneventful. We all woke up, feeling quite refreshed. We returned our keys and continued to Cerulean. We were silent for a lot of the time until I finally asked quietly, "Please tell me?"

I don't know what happened after that. The only thing I remembered was getting punched by them again and losing consciousness. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the inn, Eoniai sitting next to my bed.

He noticed that I regained consciousness and spoke frankly. "If you ask us about that thing Spencer told us one more time, we will throw you in the river and be done with you. Got it?"

I nodded, just that hurting my face from the double punch. Apparently they were waiting for me, because we left soon after I got up. We headed south to Saffron, an uneventful journey. Until we got close, that is.

Once we drew near to the city, we could instantly tell something was going on, and went to hide in the undergrowth near the road. There was a lot of truck movement, going to and from the city. We wouldn't think much of it, except for one thing. All the trucks had raven logos on the side, just like the guys from the store a while ago.

I cursed. "How the hell are we gonna get in?"

Eoniai frowned. "You want subtle or non-subtle?"

I looked at him. "Considering all the trucks, I'd say subtle."

He nodded. "Okay, then I suggest we hide under an incoming truck and sneak in that way."

"Won't work. The truck bottoms are too close to the ground. Trust me, if that were going to work, I would have figured it out by now."

"Well, sooorryyy," Eoniai said. Then he stopped. We looked at Tardon, who shook his head. We then straightened up, and slowly turned around.

We couldn't see our mysterious guest, but we knew she was there. I say she because the voice sounded feminine, which as I was thinking it, didn't sound as good as I thought. Men could be feminine.

Then she came out of the woods. Eh. Turned out I was right. She looked to be about our age, fifteen or so. She had long brown hair that flowed down her shoulders, wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. My guess was she had been in the woods a while. Her clothes were covered in dirt and plants.

I stepped forward. "Okay, who the hell are you? And what are you doing in the forest?"

She kept her face blank. "My name's Alyssa, and the second question is a lot harder than the first. Come into the forest so they don't see you."

I wondered what she meant, and turned around. I saw a pair of searchlights we hadn't seen before. Good idea. We went into the woods, then Alyssa started to explain.

See, about a week ago, an everyday truck had rolled into town, everyone assuming it was for the Silph Company, the biggest corporation in the region. Well, it was and it wasn't. When the truck had unloaded its cargo, men came running out with guns. People ran, people fell, and Team Nevermore essentially took over the city. Alyssa was one of the lucky few who escaped before capture…or worse. Since then, she'd been trying to figure out a way into the city to take it back. Then we came along.

We were all stunned. Team Nevermore seemed to be getting more desperate. "Any idea why they invaded?"

She shrugged. "No clue. But I did hear one of them say something about a ring and no luck…"

We took a double-take. They took over the city just for the Psychic Ring? Damn, desperate was right.

I set myself. "Well, Alyssa, don't worry. We'll help you take back the city."

She looked at me. "And how?"

I just grinned and held my arm out. But before I could trigger the band, Eoniai and Tardon dragged me away.

"Are you crazy?" Eoniai asked. "You barely know this girl and you're going to transform in front of her?"

"Well, what else can I do?" I asked. "We need firepower, and the Band plus the new Ring will probably help."

Tardon shook his head. "I dunno, man. What if she gets captured and spills?"

I grinned. "She won't spill."

Eoniai glanced at me. "Really? How can you tell?"

I shrugged. "I can't. Trust, a leap of faith, call it what you want, but I trust her."

I went off before they could argue. We came back to Alyssa, who looked at us a little peeved.

"What took you so long?"

I shrugged. "Meeting. No big deal."

And with that, I transformed. It was quick, like back in Viridian. Alyssa stood there, wide-eyed.

Once the transformation finished, I looked at her cockily. "Now, let's break and enter, shall we?"

**Hey all, Wedrestamos here. Sorry I've been so long, again. Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

After I transformed, the three of us prepared to go into the city.

Alyssa stopped us, though. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where the hell do you think you're going?"

We looked at each other, then I said, "To take back Saffron from Nevermore. Did you have something else in mind?"

She stood her ground. "I'm going with you."

I stepped forward. "No. We just met you. We've been doing this longer than you have, and personally, I'm afraid that if I let you in there, you're gonna get captured, or worse."

Tardon chipped in. "Besides, this is man's work. Step aside, little lady."

He was trying to be manly, but boy, did it backfire. She walked straight up to him and kneed him in the nuts, dropping him hard. Eoniai and I weren't sure if we were supposed to be laughing or scared.

Alyssa kicked him again. "Call me little lady again, and I'll make sure you become one."

She turned to us. "So, can I come with?"

Eoniai and I looked at each other, then back at her. I could tell she wasn't gonna take no for an answer. Call it instinct, or just noticing how she carried herself. Feisty and independent. I liked that.

I nodded. "You can come. But, we might have to wait a few minutes."

She pouted. "Why?"

I pointed at Tardon, still rolling around in pain.

She gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh, yeah. Right."

After Tardon told us he could feel his nuts again, we set off. I told the other three to wait in the bushes while I went to get the gate open.

The trucks had stopped coming. They had stopped around sunset. Probably not night workers. I shrugged and kept going, towards the guardhouse.

It was dark out. I could tell because the guy at the place said, "Forget your stuff?"

Obviously, he thought I was one of them. Pretty dumb, but I worked with it. "Nah, just had to get something. So, remind me again what we're doing here?"

He shook his head in exasperation. "Why do you keep forgetting? Ugh. Anyways, the long and the short of it is twofold. We came here to take over Silph Company and find the Psychic Ring before White Fury."

I nodded. "Uh-huh, uh-huh. Now, what does White Fury look like?"

He chuckled. "Well, he looks a lot like you, actually. White everything, can't see his face…wait…oh, sunavuh-"

He was going for the alarm, but I got there before he did, thanks to ExtremeSpeed. I stopped in front of the alarm, and he backed away slowly.

"Well," I said. "Looks like you're in quite a predicament. Shall we do this the easy way, or the hard way?"

As answer, he pulled out a gun and pointed it at me.

I shook my head. "Hard it is." I rushed forward, thinking, 'Mach Punch,' and my fist started to glow. Before he could fire, my fist slammed into his gut. He flew backwards, running into the wall and drawing a little blood, and fell unconscious.

I shrugged. Well, it worked, at least. Only problem was, even though he didn't manage to sound the alarm, he managed to lockdown the gate. No way to get in without "proper identification."

I got out of the guardhouse and gestured towards the woods. Eoniai, Tardon, and Alyssa came out. We all looked at the gate. It was tall, about 15 feet, and solid concrete.

Eoniai thought for a moment, then said, "Hyper Beam?"

I considered it. On the one hand, Hyper Beam was powerful enough to take out the gate, maybe part of the surrounding wall, too. On the other hand, I would be very weak afterwards, and there was no way to sneak around after that. But, I figured Recover could get me strong again, and the guys…we were just gonna have to work with it.

I nodded. "Get away. I don't want any of you caught in the blast."

They nodded, and headed about three feet back. Not quite what I meant, but hey.

I raised my hands. "Hyper Beam!"

My hands started to glow. Then, they started to shake. Then a huge white beam shot out, hit the wall…and about, mm, one second later, BOOM!

We all ducked, debris flying over our heads as I quickly used Recover to regain strength. After the dust settled, we got up and surveyed the damage. There was a huge hole in the wall where the gate was, and it looked like it had nicked a couple of buildings, too. No time to worry about that, though. We had company. Nevermore goons started pouring out of every nook and cranny.

I turned to face my friends. "Okay, people, we got company! Lock and load!"

I turned back. "Yippee-Ki-yay, mother-"

Gunfire drowned out the rest of my sentence. I rushed ahead, trying to think of a move that could help. Then, it hit me just as I got to the crowd of goons. "Guys, close your eyes! Flash!"

Instantly, my body began to glow brightly. That, along with the darkness of the night, helped blind a good chunk of the goon squad.

I smirked. "Okay, guys, you're good! Take 'em down!"

And we went to work. We each took a quarter, me taking them down with Fighting moves, Eoniai and Tardon taking them out with typical fighting styles, and Alyssa giving nut shots to every guy in her way. Within five minutes, all of the goons were in a state that they could no longer fight. The four of us hi-fived, pretty confident. Until one big sound.

The sound of guns preparing to fire. We noticed we were surrounded by a larger goon squad, all of them holding machine guns at us, so close, they couldn't miss, even if we did try to escape.

"Well, crap," I said. We held our hands up, and instantly, they swarmed us.

Two minutes later, we were captives, being led to the main office of the Silph Building. I figured they weren't taking us just to see the president, so I wondered what was up.

The door was opened, revealing two tougher looking goons and a swivel chair, its back turned to us. Its occupant seemed to be on the phone. All but five of our escort party left, and we were left waiting.

"Mm-hm….Mm-hm…yes…All right, I understand…Thank you." The mysterious man hung up and stood up, turning to face us.

He had the Nevermore logo on his coat, and his uniform was similar to that of the goon squad, but in purple. The only other weird thing was that he wore a raven beak mask.

He approached us. "So, you're the infamous White Fury that's been giving us so much trouble."

I kept my face neutral. "I've been told. Might I ask who you are?"

He shrugged. "Well, considering this night is your last, I don't see why not. I am a top admin of Team Nevermore. Call me…Edgar!"

He swept his cape around him for dramatic effect. Not that it impressed us.

He frowned. "Applause would be nice."

He didn't get any. Well, this was not turning out well for him.

I cut to the chase. "What did we ever do to you?"

He sighed. "Well, it's a long and heart felt story. You see-"

I burst through my bonds like they were tissue paper, thanks to Strength. "Yeah, not in the mood. Get out of the city and take all your men with you, or else."

He smirked. "Or else what?"

He snapped his fingers. Instantly, the guards grabbed my friends and brought them over to him. He turned them around so they could see me.

He looked at me. "I seem to have a little less to lose than you do. So, here's your ultimatum. Give up your quest for the rings, or I kill you friends."

The guards held their guns up to their heads. The three of them tried to stay calm, but I could see the fear and sweat.

I sighed. I had been beaten. "Very well. I promise not-"

What happened next, I should've seen coming. My friends, in their true style, kicked their guards in the nuts. I facepalmed. Why I didn't see that coming, I didn't know. But, the important thing was, we now outnumbered Edgar four to one. I broke their bonds and we advanced on him.

He was starting to panic. "Um, okay, hold on, maybe we can reason?"

I picked him up and slammed him against the wall. "No reason, just direct. Leave and never come back. Or else. Got it?"

He nodded vigorously. I let him down, and he sprinted out of the room. Once he got to the door, though, he turned back.

"One last word, White Fury, and then I shall leave. Mark my words, you will regret the day you-"

I walked over to him, turned him around, and Mega Kicked him out. "Yeah, yeah, you hear it once, you hear it a thousand times."

Dawn rose to behold the Nevermore trucks leaving the city. The residents of Saffron City came and cheered, for finally, the bane of their existence had fled. I received the cheers, of course. Hey, what's hero work without publicity? I quickly found an alley and changed back to my normal self.

After the celebration had died down, the four of us went to eat at the inn. As we were eating, we discussed strategy. We mentioned how we needed to find the Psychic Ring, and Alyssa said that there was a gym for the mind in the city, maybe there? We looked at each other and nodded. So now, we head for the "gym of the mind," whatever the hell that was. Who knows? Maybe she was right. Maybe not. Either way, it was our only lead, and we took it. What we'll find there, no clue. Hopefully something good.

**Hey, all! Good to see people reading my story! Don't forget to review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry, probably should've mentioned this earlier, but any character that bears any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, is completely coincidental. Now, on with the show!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

The four of us started to head towards to the so-called "mind gym." Once we got there, it made more sense. Turns out the place back in the day was a gym, but got renovated into a library after people stopped coming to the gym. We walked inside. I was impressed. Now, some libraries might have a few collection here and there, but this place was like Spencer's house times ten.

We didn't get a lot of time to look around, though. A woman was walking up to us. She was medium height, long black hair, and dressed for efficiency.

"Hello. You must be new, I don't remember seeing you here before. My name's Katherine and I run this library. Anything I can help you with today?"

"Um, yeah," I said. Before I went on, though, I noticed something on her left pointer finger. It was a ring, pink in color, and had the design of an eye on it.

I looked back at her and held up my right hand, showing her my ring. She looked a little stunned for a second, then nodded.

"Very well. Come this way, please."

She led us towards a back room. Once we got inside, my jaw dropped. It looked like it took up maybe half the space we had seen outside. In the center of it was a fighting ring.

Katherine led us towards the ring. Once we got to it, she turned back to us. "As you probably had figured out already, I am the protector of the Psychic Ring. In order for you to earn the ring, your challenges are twofold. First, a quiz of three questions. Answer any of them wrong, and you're done. After the quiz will be the fighting. Now, a special rule for the fight. From now on, any fight with a protector you are in, you must transform into the type that you have received immediately before, in your case, the Fighting Ring. This is meant as an extra challenge to test the worth of any challengers. Are you ready?"

I nodded. "Good," she said. "The quiz. Now, you should know, all of the questions will be pokemon related. Just some facts about the species in general. Got it?"

I nodded again. "All right," she said. "First question: What was the only Water/Steel type there was?"

Starting out easy. Hm. "Empoleon. Final evolutionary form of Piplup, Water starter of the Sinnoh region."

She nodded. "Kudos on the extras. Next question: What was the Fairy type weak against?"

"Steel and Poison," I answered without hesitation.

She nodded again. "Figured that would be easy to you. Last question: What is the biggest city for each region, in order?"

I gave her a look. Too easy. "Celadon for Kanto, Goldenrod for Johto, Lilycove for Hoenn, Jublife for Sinnoh, Castelia for Unova, and Lumiose for Kalos. Was that supposed to be challenging?"

She smirked. "Nah, considering the quiz isn't even part of the challenge. I just like asking trivia questions."

My eyes got wide. She, the protector of the Psychic Ring, was messing with me? What the hell?

I was pissed. "Let's just get to the fight so I can kick your ass."

She smirked again. "Good luck. You're at the disadvantage, remember?"

She pressed the Psychic Ring, I the Fighting. We transformed, me into the fighting ensemble I had seen Lorenzo wear, her into a pink suit with a mask. Eoniai, Tardon, and Alyssa got ringside seats. Katherine and I got into our corners, and some bell somewhere was rung. I rushed towards her, figuring I could weaken her early.

So imagine my shock when I just stop. No reason at all, just stop in the middle of the ring. Katherine was chuckling, which worried me.

"Wow," she said. "I just…wow. How do you not see this coming? Psychic Ring, librarian, obviously I'm very in tune with the ring! So I know all of its secrets. Which means you have no chance of winning."

She picked me up and slammed me onto the mat, hard. I backed up, but she just did it again. And again. And again, over and over until I could barely stand. She had hardly moved, yet I was almost done. I had to think of something, and fast.

Then it hit me. Fight special with special! I shouted, "Focus Blast!" and an orb of orange light appeared between my hands. Katherine didn't seem nervous, though.

"Ha! You really think that ball's going to hurt me? You're more of a fool than I thought! I'll be nice and counter it visibly. Psybeam!"

A pink ray shot from her, and I shot my Focus Blast. They collided, exploded, and the arena filled with smoke. When it settled, I noticed we were both still standing, Katherine looking a little uneasy.

"How…how did you survive that?" she asked. "That's impossible!"

I knew she was going to recover soon, so I rushed her and thought of the move I thought best. "Close Combat!" My hands and feet glowed orange, and I started whaling on her. After about fifteen, twenty hits, I stopped. She looked about as weak as me. I figured one more move would end it. I looked at her and shouted, "Sky Uppercut!" My right fist glowed bright orange, ad started going up. It made contact with her, and true to the name, she went sky-high. Now, even though I didn't quite expect that, I knew to get out of the way. She came back down and hit the mat, unconscious. I jumped out of the ring and ran over to the others. Before we could celebrate in full swing, though, Katherine got up. She looked at me and smiled weakly.

"Well done, White Fury. I didn't see that coming. You shall use this ring well."

And with that, the ring came to me and settled itself on my left pointer finger. I looked at her and nodded. All of a sudden, the Normal Band started to glow. It showed a map of a region and then went dark.

I looked at the others. Eoniai said, "That was Johto. You think the next ring's there?"

"It's a good bet," I said. "Anyone know how to get there?"

"Yeah, I do," chipped in Alyssa. "Here in Saffron, there's something called the Magnet Train that runs from here to Goldenrod in Johto."

I nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. When does it leave?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, they come and go pretty often. We can stay here overnight if you want to." After today, that sounded like a damn good idea. We said good-bye to Katherine, then went to the inn and got rooms. We all met in my room for a staff meeting that night.

I started it off. "So, what problems are on the agenda tonight?"

Alyssa spoke up. "I want to come with you."

All three of us at the same time said, "No."

I frowned. "For the same reasons we didn't want you joining us for the attack on the city. Too dangerous."

She pouted. "I can handle myself. Do I need to prove that again?"

We all instinctively backed up. "No!"

I tried to reason with her. "Look, we all know you can take care of yourself, Tardon especially. We…I just don't want you to get hurt."

She looked touched. "Still, this is the most exciting thing that's happened here in a long time. Please? If I get in the way, you can send me straight back here."

The guys and I looked at each other, then back at her. "Okay, on those conditions, you can come."

"Yay!" she squealed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I sighed. "You're welcome. Anything else from anyone?"

Silence. "Meeting adjourned, then."

The guys left, but Alyssa stayed back.

I was a little nervous. "Um, anything I can help you with, Alyssa?"

She came over to me, smiling all the way. I noticed how close we were to each other. Then she kissed me on the cheek. "Night, Red. Sweet dreams."

She left. I got into bed and fell asleep, cheek still buzzing from the kiss.

I got up, having had a very good night's sleep. The guys saw me and asked what was up. I said, "What are you talking about?"

Eoniai looked at me. "You're acting all giddy."

"Guys, we have a train to catch. Do we have to worry about this now?"

"Well, no."

"Good. Let's get going, then."

We packed our stuff and left for the station. Alyssa was waiting for us, dressed for travel. Shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers, obviously preparing for warm weather.

We all got onto the train and left for Goldenrod. What we would find in Johto was anyone's guess. But with these crazies by my side, I thought my odds looked damn good.

**Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

After we had arrived in Goldenrod City from Saffron by the Magnet Train, we had no clue where to go. Nothing different, really. Then, lucky for us, the Psychic Ring started to glow, pointing north. We figured that was good for us, so we left Goldenrod for what was listed on a map as Ecruteak City.

On our way, we were talking about what was going on, what with the quest in general and Team Nevermore's interference. We were so into our conversation, I sort of ran into a guy on the way. We both fell, me hoping the guy wouldn't be too mad. He actually took it pretty well, surprisingly. He was saying stuff like, "No, it's my fault, I didn't see where I was going," but somehow I could he him saying something else, which went like, "What's the freaking idea, man?! I'm walking here! Watch where the hell you're going!"

He walked off. Puzzled, I turned to the others and asked, "Hey, what was he saying?"

They looked a little confused, too, but Eoniai said, "He was just apologizing for running into you, being really apologetic, stuff like that."

I frowned. "Nothing about being mad at me?"

Tardon shook his head. "Nothing like that, no. Why?"

"Because…I think I heard his thoughts."

Their eyes widened. Eoniai thought for a moment, and I could hear him thinking, "Well, it could be the new ring, what with it being Psychic. The telepathy might be completely involuntary, but it's too early to say."

He opened his mouth to talk, and I said, "No need, man. I heard you think. I think I might be able to control it so I don't creep people out, though."

Eoniai shut his mouth, looking a little amazed and miffed at the same time. Well, who could blame him? I wondered, though. Could I just do that, or more? I focused on Tardon, willing him to go up. After a few seconds of awkwardness, Tardon started to levitate. And boy, did he panic. He screamed so loud, he probably could've been heard in Kanto. I smiled and released my hold on him. He fell to the ground, kind of painfully. We were all laughing so hard, it hurt. Then I wondered how much more I could do. I looked at Alyssa. Apparently, she saw something bad coming, walked up to me, and kneed me in the balls. I dropped like a sack of potatoes. The three of them laughed at me, then started to drag me while I recovered.

Finally, I had gotten up, but I was still wary of Alyssa, who was glancing my way and smirking maliciously. All was forgotten soon enough, though, as we entered a huge park. It was circular and just filled with people.

Tardon, as he usually does, summed it up well. "Holy crap!"

We all nodded at that sentiment. There was nature everywhere you turned, and for once, I felt like I could just relax and not worry about Nevermore or the rings or anything. A pipe dream, I know, but still…

We walked deeper into the place, which we saw a sign call the National Park. So many children were playing, so many people happy. It really was nice to see, and reminded me of why I was doing this in the first place.

I turned to the others. "Guys?"

They stopped. Eoniai said, "Yeah?"

"You ever wonder why we do this?"

Tardon looked at me quizzically. "What do you mean?"

"Like, why do we put ourselves in danger for others?"

They thought for a moment. For privacy, I didn't listen in. Then, Alyssa spoke. "Why do you do this?"

"I do this because…well, look around! All of these happy people, playing and talking and enjoying life without having to worry about their peace of mind. And you know why?"

Something caught Tardon's eye. He nudged me and pointed. There was a man reading a newspaper, and on the cover was yours truly. As White Fury, of course.

We went over to him. "Excuse me, sir?" I asked.

He looked up from the paper. "Oh, hi. Do you need something?"

I nodded. "Could I see the paper, please?"

"Sure. Here."

He handed me the paper and found the article on myself. It read, "You may have noticed a strange figure on the cover. He is a new hero called White Fury. He has made a name for himself, first by stopping a market robbery, then by saving an entire city from the same group. If you see him, that means two things: Danger is imminent, and he will save us from it."

I showed my friends the article, then handed it back to the man. "That's why," I said.

They nodded, and we continued on. We soon arrived in Ecruteak City, and I thought the place looked kind of old. Well, considering it had old temples and stuff, I wouldn't be surprised. We walked around town, then saw a theater. We went to go check it out, but a guy at the door said the show wasn't until tonight. We nodded, then decided to kill time in the city. We went to go check out two towers in the town. One looked badly burned, and seemed to look malicious, in a way. We moved on quickly. The next tower was in better shape. We saw a sign that said it was called the Bell Tower. We went in. We looked up, and holy crap, was this thing tall. As we were looking around, we overheard some people saying the theater was open. Figuring this was the same theater, we decided to head back there. The place was called the Kimono Dance Theater.

It wasn't bad. There were these women in old fashioned kimonos performing what I assumed to be an ancient dance. I figured that's why it was called the Kimono Dance Theater. Intermission came, but before anyone left, four men came onto the stage. They were dressed a little odd, but I wasn't one to judge. Attached to their backs were what I could only really describe as souped-up vacuums.

The one that looked like their leader stepped forward. "Hello, everyone. We hope you are enjoying the show. We are up here just to remind you to report any ghost sightings so we can take care of it for you."

Wait, what? Did he just say ghost? I looked around, and I could see that every face in the theater except ours were serious. Okay, I guess it was true. As he was talking, though, I noticed something behind him. I couldn't really tell what it was; I could only make out a purple blob. Then it grew fangs and smiled in a way that sent chills down my spine. No one else had seemed to notice, so I shouted, "Guys! Behind you!"

The men turned, and the blob laughed. The men readied their vacuums for some reason, and the theater was empty within minutes. The vacuums were turned on, and the blob looked like it was being sucked in. It went in, and the men turned off their vacuums and left. Well, not the weirdest thing I'd seen, but close.

Eoniai stiffened. "Do you guys hear something?"

After a moment, we heard it: laughter. The kind of laughter that makes a person happy. As far as we could hear, it was coming from the back row of seats. We headed there, and we found a kid around our age laughing so hard, he was crying. He had blond hair, and he was wearing dark clothes. Not like black, but more like purple. He finally started to calm down, and he noticed us.

"Oh, hiya. Sorry, I was really into something funny."  
Tardon said, "Mind telling us what?"

The kid grinned. "The pandemonium! No one was hurt, thankfully, but boy, was it funny!"

And sure enough, he was laughing again. Man, this kid needed to control himself.

I walked up to him and slapped him. "Get it together, man!"

He came to his senses. "Sorry, got carried away. The name's Hunter. Who're you?"

We introduced ourselves. Hunter said, "Cool. Nice to meetcha. Whatcha doin' in this boring town?"

We looked at each other, trying to figure out what not to say. Alyssa said, "Well, we're looking for a relic of the town's past. Just a little trinket."

Hunter nodded. "I see. Well, I've lived here my whole life. Maybe I can help you find it."

"Sure," I said. "We need all the help we can get."

Hunter looked at us quizzically. "So…what's the thing?"

I decided to trust him a bit and say, "A ring. That's all I need to say."

He looked at all of us in turn and thought for a moment. Then he spoke. "Meet me back here tonight. Make sure no one sees you." And with that cryptic remark, he took his leave.

Night fell, and we headed back towards the theater. The bouncer was still there, but when he saw us, he said, "Hunter?"

We looked at each other, then nodded. He got out of the way, and we went in. It was a little spooky after dark.

We noticed a figure on stage, in dark clothing. He had a purple scarf with a picture of a skull on it, and we couldn't see much else because of the dark. That and the fact that the clothes were kind of…shifting.

The figure spoke. "Welcome, White Fury. You have come here for your next test of power. But I shall warn you once, and only once. The protectors in Johto are tougher than those pansies in Kanto. Get ready for the battle of your life!"


End file.
